Over the last several decades, views on abortion have been relatively stable. However, partisan attitudes have become increasingly polarized, with Democrats becoming more consistently supportive and Republicans becoming more consistently opposed.
A new survey of young adults (age 15 to 24) conducted by PRRI and MTV suggests that political polarization on the issue of abortion will likely continue into the future. Overall, young people are generally not in favor of limiting abortion access for women. Only about one-quarter (28 percent) favor making it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion, while nearly three-quarters (72 percent) oppose making it more difficult, including 45 percent who strongly oppose it.
Young partisans adopt strongly divergent views on the issue. Nearly nine in ten (87 percent) young Democrats say they would not support making it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion, while a majority (57 percent) of young Republicans say they would support this. Notably, young Democrats express greater agreement than young Republicans on the issue of limiting abortion access. More than four in ten (43 percent) young Republicans say they would not favor making it more difficult for women to get an abortion.